Personalize Her 60th Birthday Party to Her Particular Sense of Humor and Style. Photo Courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/seeks2dream/3494486931/ under Creative Commons Attribution License.

Celebrate Turning 60 With a Laughter-Filled Party

When your mom, wife, sister, friend, female coworker - or whoever she may be - turns sixty, it's a super big deal. If you're thinking of throwing a woman a party to celebrate her 60th birthday, you can't go wrong with a theme of laughter, humor and jokes - as long as they don't totally cross the line of good taste. Here are some funny and light-hearted birthday party ideas for decorations, entertainment, and speeches suitable for helping women celebrate the landmark year of sixty.

60th Birthday Gag Gifts

Gag gifts themselves are party entertainment. What makes a good joke gift? Definitely nothing mean. Anything that will get her to laugh and give you a hug. The funny book When I Grow Up I Want to Be 60 is just such a present; it puts things in perspective, tastefully.

And don't forget various good-spirited over the hill gifts and party favors. When you've got a young-at-heart 60th birthday woman on your hands, an over-the-hill gift basket will show her adamantly that she's not over the hill by a long shot.

Tell 60th Birthday One Liners and Jokes to Break the Ice

60th Birthday Humor

If you tell jokes at her party, be funny, creative...and considerate. The 60th birthday girl may be sensitive at reaching a new decade of life. Even if she's not sensitive about her age, she may not respond well to anything too macabre.

An "over the hill" joke, if light and tasteful, can get lots of laughter, adding levity to what can be a too-serious transition time in life. But tailor it for the particular woman's personality.

Here's a silly idea to get you started - it's perfect for speeches:

What do you call a woman in her late sixties?

Sixty.

What do you call a woman in her mid sixties?

Sixty.

What do you call a woman in her early sixties?

Sixty.

What do you call a woman who's exactly sixty years old?

Gorgeous as ever.

Party Games

Two kinds of party games are ideal for a 60th birthday party for a woman: board games that harken back to her childhood and games and activities of nostalgia that take her back to the decades of her growing up and young adult years. Both are good for lots of laughs.

Some suggestions for entertaining party games:

Hula hoops--developed by Wham-o in the 1950s. Could she use the hula-hoop way back when? Have a stack out and let party guests try them out.

The Game of Life board game is still around, but will have new nuances for this birthday.

Funny Party Games for a Hilarious 60th Birthday Celebration

The 1950, 1960s and 1970s were an unbelievably exciting time to be growing up--if only because of the music. This fun music trivia game covers the 50s, 60s, and 70s decades--much fun for party guests of different generations.

Play Nostalgic Music from the 1960s and 1970s

The birthday gal likely has nostalgic memories of listening to disco and folk songs when she was a teenager and in her twenties - and maybe still! So play a party CD with Village People, Donna Summer, Abba, Bob Dylan, Carly Simon, and other music artists who were part of the culture of her younger days.

You'll be surprised at what memories it brings up, both for the recipient and for your guests.

Go the Whole Nine Yards - 60th Birthday Decorations and All

For a good-humored woman who's turning 60 this year - one who likes to laugh at herself and is positive about life - celebrate her age with a funny party.

First, pick your theme. Elegance is all well and good. You can go for the classy crystal, the fold-up napkins, the satin tablecloth. And you can personalize the theme: if she loves blue, this is the year to use blue decorations. If she's a cat lover, have a cat-themed birthday party. She's 60, and it's all about her. But don't neglect touches of light-hearted fun.

Use little nostalgic touches that add humor. What about a Mr. Potato Head placed on the table...a bunch of Slinky toys laid out in decorative arrangements...hula hoops hung on doorknobs...the mind boggles when it comes to funny 60th birthday party decoration ideas.

Think tacky. Think the number "60" emblazoned over everything. Some birthdays, you don't emphasize a woman's age, not unless you want to get shuffled out the door. But 60 is a milestone, a landmark age, and should be embraced.

Do it all--60th birthday party napkins, 60th birthday mylar balloons, and decorations that remind her both that she's reached the milestone age of sixty and that she's really still young at heart.

Same with her 60th birthday cake and candles. Get her all the candles. She's lived six decades. She's earned each and every one.

She's done a lot in her life--and she's not done doing it. Help her tell the world.

60th Birthday Party Plates

60th Birthday Party Napkins

Call for Speeches at the Party

Speech! Speech! A speech can enhance a party and make it truly memorable.

You can place a general call for speeches, but a better plan is to warn the people who know your mom (or wife, or friend, or whoever she may be) to prepare a birthday speech commemorating the grand event of becoming 60 years old.

Tell them--ahem--that you want a funny speech. Humor. Jokes. It's all about the laughs.

Some 60th birthday party speech suggestions, if you're at a loss for topics:

Embarrassing Memories from Childhood

What We've Learned

The Difference Between 30 and 60

Reasons I Liked Turning 60

What Every Woman Should Know About Entering Her 60s

Besides putting the birthday girl on the spot, call for speeches from:

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